Sharks preseason to roll through Stockton

The 10,000-seat Stockton Arena is home to the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. But for one night, it will play host to the big club.

The San Jose Sharks will face the Vancouver Canucks in a split-squad game on Sept. 23 in Stockton. Tickets go on sale for the game Friday at 10 a.m.

The Stockton Arena, built in 2005, is part of a beautiful downtown complex in Stockton that also includes a minor league baseball stadium. Hockey has been a hit in the area, with the Thunder drawing 172,000 fans to the arena last season to rank 11th in ECHL attendance.

The Stockton Thunder are affiliated with the NHL’s New York Islanders after splitting with Sharks in 2012. The Sharks brought on the defunct San Francisco Bulls as an ECHL affiliate for two seasons and do not currently have an official ECHL affiliation.

The Sharks will bring half their squad to Stockton for the preseason opener, with the other half traveling to Vancouver for a game the same night. San Jose will follow the Stockton visit with three consecutive home games, facing the Coyotes (Sept. 26), Ducks (Sept. 27) and Kings (Sept. 30).

The preseason ends with back-to-back road games against the Coyotes and the Ducks on Oct. 3 and 4.